it's been a terrible week for the united states, but i'm still hopeful about a lot of the arab spring. we've got to navigate some tough times right now, and syria remains a huge mess. but if you ask me how things are compared to how i would have guessed a year ago, probably better than i would have surmised. >> the u.s. still controls pursestrings in as much of the foreign aid to that part of the world. will that allow the u.s. to continue to exert some influence? >> absolutely. i think president morsi knows this in egypt. it's part of why he's sensitive to the fact that his initial reaction to this video. however understandable at a religious level is inappropriate at a political level, at a leadership level. i'd like to hope he would have figured this out on his own, but it's nice to have $1.5 billion worth of leverage on our side. >> chuck, this all did not happen in a vacuum. we're in political season right now. mitt romney spoke out. some say maybe a little too quickly before understanding all the facts of the timing of the statement. does the romney campaign regret anything it's